The 10th Edition of Balkanik Festival starts Friday at the Uranus Garden and on Uranus Street

Between the 8^th and the 10^th of September, Balkanik Festival – Home of World Music will build a rich and diverse multicultural universe in the Uranus Garden and on Uranus Street, a true cross-disciplinary and inclusive melting pot bringing together communities, cultures, and generation. The 10^th edition promises to be the largest to date – the Uranus Garden will host numerous concerts, exhibitions, crafts, debates, workshops, and gastronomy (access will be gained via festival pass or day ticket), while access to the Uranus Street fair, yummy delights, and DJ sets is free.

On Friday, September 8, access will be allowed starting at 16:00, while Saturday and Sunday the festival gates will open at 11:00.

„Balkanik Festival is a project co-financed by the Bucharest City Hall, via ARCUB, as part of the ”București acasă 2023” Program”

For this anniversary edition, the festival’s main stage, located within the Uranus Garden, will host concerts by Ovidiu Lipan Țăndărică și Fanfara din Zece Prăjini (Romania), Extraliscio (Italy), Taraf de Caliu (Romania), Papiers d’Arménies with Dan Gharibian (Armenia-France), SMADJ Balkan Project (France-Tunisia), Paulina (Romania), Ufuk Coșkun & friends (Turkey-Romania), Wernyhora (Poland), Kristijan Azirovic Orkestar (Serbia), between 18:00 and 23:00.

BALKANIK FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8:

LIVE CONCERTS AT THE URANUS GARDEN:

18:30 KRISTIJAN AZIROVIC ORKESTAR (Serbia)

20:00 PAULINA (Romania)

21:30 SMADJ BALKAN PROJECT (France-Tunisia)

DJ SET ON URANUS STREET:

16:00 M.O.Z.A.R & BAD MIREL

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9:

LIVE CONCERTS AT THE URANUS GARDEN:

18:00 UFUK COȘKUN & FRIENDS (Turkey-Romania)

19:30 TARAF DE CALIU (Romania)

21:40 OVIDIU LIPAN ȚĂNDĂRICĂ ȘI FANFARA ZECE PRĂJINI (Romania)

DJ SET ON URANUS STREET:

12:00 PIXAR STELAR

14:00 DANIEL MITULESCU

16:00 LIGIA KEȘIȘIAN & LUCAS MOLINA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10:

LIVE CONCERTS AT THE URANUS GARDEN:

18:00 WERNYHORA (Poland)

19:30 EXTRALISCIO (Italy)

21:30 PAPIERS D’ARMÉNIES (Armenia-France)

DJ SET ON URANUS STREET:

12:00 IRINA POPESCU

14:00 ABASC

16:00 MIKO

For this edition, the Uranus Garden will become a grand open-air museum. Those in attendance will be able to enjoy and discover numerous demonstrations and workshops of old crafts – loom weaving, ceramics, embroidery, jewel crafting, and smithing silver and copper. As part of this anniversary edition, there will be daily debates on the community as a resource, on activating local communities, debates about slow fashion and slow design, cultural ecosystems, re-sourcing local music, eco-heritage, sustainability etc.

Kids will be able to participate in workshops and shows offered by the ZI DE BINE Foundation, such as a show with dry ice, giant soap bubbles, face painting, making origami stars, and many other activities.

Those that will participate in the event will also be able to visit many photography, collage, and illustration exhibitions. Among these, we recount: Polish and Romanian women which changed the world, offered by the Polish Institute, Italian excellence: The new generation of illustrators for children, offered by the Italian Cultural Institute, Mystical Muses – opening of an Andreea Retinschi exhibition, Dadestar Chaveste – a troubadour story – exhibition opening and book signing event with Iulian Ignat, Armenia – the realm between the mountains, a photography exhibition by Karapet Karo Sahakyan and Andreea Tănase, Origins – collage exhibition by Cristiana Bucureci, Cartooning for Peace, offered by the French Institute, Collective collage exhibition by artists Ada Moisa, Andrei Stan, Ruxandra Nicolae, Art Machine, a Pop-Up by Celula de Artă.

Festival passes are available at www.balkanikfestival.ro, costing 120 lei, whole day tickets can be bought for 50 lei. For those who wish to bring their friends to Balkanik Festival, there’s a 5+1 promotion (1 out of 6 festival passes bought is free). Children under 9 enjoy free entrance to all festival areas, while accompanied by adults.

Uranus Garden, host to the famous water tower designed by Anghel Saligny, one of the most beautiful historical monuments in Bucharest, is one of the few surviving spaces from the old Uranus neighborhood, which was demolished during the communist dictatorship, to make room for building Casa Poporului. Balkanik Festival is returning home in this large garden in the center of Bucharest, a magical space which has hosted 7 editions so far.

After achieving international recognition as one of the most vibrant and authentic world music festivals in Europe, Balkanik Festival continues its mission to unite the Occident and the Orient in Bucharest, by inviting a selection of established and emerging artists performing reinterpreted and fused traditional music. Thus, the traditional sounds of all the different cultures represented within the festival will find new manifestations through jazz, rock, or in electronic architectures.

Fueled by OSCAR: Balkanik Festival and OSCAR Downstream are working together as part of an initiative filled with energy and adventure! Through two consecutive giveaways, taking place on Balkanik Festival’s Instagram account, we will bring together lovers of music with those passionate about travel. On the week between August 28th and September 3^rd, and during the week between September 4^th and 10^th, friends of the festival will have the chance of winning one of the four OSCAR fuel-cards, worth 500 lei each. A single click can bring you closer to unexpected trips and unique experiences!

Website: https://balkanikfestival.ro/

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/1gureq0sQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balkanik_festival/

Video Manifest Balkanik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2wzay2ZxLY  

Balkanik Festival is organized by the Metropolis Cultural Association and The Fresh, co-financed by the Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB and part of the „București acasă 2023” Program, with the support of OSCAR Downstream, the Union of Armenians in Romania, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the French Institute, the Polish Institute, the Bucharest Italian Institute of Culture, Coca-Cola, Aperol

„The contents of this material do not necessarily represent the official position of the Bucharest City Hall or that of ARCUB.

Romania Journal is supporting the festival as media partner.